Indian soldiers attack Shia mourners in Kashmir

Indian police forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir have attacked a group of Shia Muslims participating in a religious procession marking the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, injuring and arresting a number of them.

The Indian forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar. Several Shia mourners were injured and more than a dozen others arrested.

Earlier in the day, the regional government imposed a curfew in Srinagar, placing barricades and strands of barbed wire on streets to prevent Shia Muslims from taking part in the rituals of the lunar month of Muharram.

Since 1989, Muharram processions have been disallowed in Srinagar after a pro-independence uprising started in the Indian-administered Kashmir.